Store-front.



No. 787,053. G-

UNITED STATES Patented April 11, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

MARKv SALOMON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.V

STORE-FRONT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,053, dated VApril 1,1, 1905..

Application iled July 20, 1903. Serial No. 166,244.

y. and it consists of the combination and arrange-- .ment of parts hereinafter particularly described, specifically designated in the claims,

and illustrated in the accompanyin'gdrawings,

in which- A l 5 Figure 1 is a front elevation of the ground floor of a store, arcade exhibitionehall, or other building, showing my invention adapted thereto, the front being-closed. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, :o showing the front in its elevated or open pos/ition. Fig. 3 is a detail of -the spring forY f breaking the hinge-joint between the front sections when it is desired to elevate the same. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of a portion of the z5 front, showing the doors thereof` and the bars for holding the doors intheir. closed position when the front is elevated. Fig. 5 is a section yon the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, illustrating the hanging of one of the operating-cables and its ;O attachment to the front. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of one of the guideways and door, showing the attachment of the cable to the front and one of the guide-rollers; and Fig. 7 relates to a detail. e :5 This invention is particularly designed to provide means for opening' the entire front of a store, arcade, or exhibition-hall located on the ground iioor'in order to provide an unobstructed passage-way the entire width-of l the room or other chamber to and from the street for the convenience of the :public and -also to afford means for freely Ventilating the store, &c., by throwing'it open to the atmosphere, but which, when desired, as in cold l weather, may be closed, and to this end the front is provided with suitably-hung doors designed to be used in the ordinary manner.

I have shown in Fig. Ithe ground iioor of a building 10, to which my invention is adapt- O ed. The sides ofthe building and arch above with guide members.

the sides provide a frame 11, the opening bounded thereby being shown -as extending substantially the width of the building. The width of 'the opening, however, is not material; but preferably my invention is adapted to buildings in which the entire width of the front is designed to be thrown open. Adapted to theopening is a front 12, which may'consist of one or more sections; but pref-A erably, as shown in the drawings, it comprises vtwo sections, the upper ofwhich, or 1.3, is

hinged, as at 14, to the arch or top ofthe frame 11. The second or lower section 15 is hinged, as at 16, to the lower outer edge of the upper section and is Y providedat its lower vcorners In the construction illustrated such guide members consist of rollers 17, journaled on the pintles or studs 18,

projectingy from bracketsl9, secured by boltiing'or otherwise to the lower corners of the said sections, as shown in Fig. 6. "lhe rollers 17 run on vertical tracks or flanges 20, eX- tending inwardly from the sides of the frame l.11, at the outer' edges Aof the same, from or" near the lower ends of Athe said sides to or near -the top of the upper frontsection 13. Pivotplates 21 is a cable 23, which passes upwardly along the track 2O and over a sheave`24, journaled in a bracket 25, located in a channel at each side of the frame above theupper section 13 of the front, Thefree end of the cable is then carried down along the -channel at that side of the frame, and to facilitate raising and lowering the front the cables are provided with counterbalance-weights-26. `Any suitable means 4may be provided for opening and closing the sections; but preferably I employ an endlesschain 34, moving over a sheave 33, fixed to or turning with one of the sheaves 24 and hanging in the groove in which such sheave 24 is located. Access to the chain may be secured through an opening in the inner Wall of the channel, closed by 'a hinged panel 35. The operating-chain may be dispensed with, however, and the sections opened or closed simply by moving the lower section up IOO the two sections.

Arun over its sheave, thereby moving the secor down, as the case may be, by hand. To insure the breaking of the joint between the sections to permit of their elevation, I preferably provide a spring 27, secured adjacent the outer edge of each of the tracks 2O and f normally exerting pressure against one of the sections at about the point where they are hinged together. rlhe lower section 15 is provided with means for securing it in closed position,rsuch as the slide-bolts 28, adapted to engage the sides of the frame 11.

In order to provide means for ingress and egress when the front 13 is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, a doorway 29 is provided in the section 15, preferably midway of its ends. The opening is adapted to be closed by a door or doors 30, which may be hung in any suitable manner. In the construction illustrated two of such doors are shown and hinged at the sides of the opening 29 of the said section 15. In order to securely hold the doors 30 closed when the front 12 is elevated, one or more bars 31 are placed across the inside of the said doors and retained by brackets 32, secured to the same side of the front 12.

When the front sections are closed, as in cold weather, the bars 31 are removed to permit rof the doors 30 being opened and closed in the usual manner. I/Vhen it is desired to open the whole front of the apartment in order to provide an unobstructed passage-way, the doors 30 are secured by their bars, as heretofore described. When it is desired to elevate the front section, the doors 30 are secured by the bars 31, the bolts 28 drawn, whereon the springs break the joint between The operating-chain is then tion 15 upwardly and folding it inwardly upon the upper section 13 until it, with the former, is drawn entirely out of the way in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to hide the folding sections from sight, a shield plate or piece 36 is located at the upper end of the store-front opening, as shown in Fig. 2, in such position as to be in front of the outer ends of the sections 13 and 15 when the latter are in their elevated position.

The sections may be ornamented in any suitable manner to add to their attractiveness and also provided with windows or glass panels t-o permit of the access of light when the front is closed. When elevated, the sections are obscured from View, and, in addition to opening the entire front of the building, so as to provide an unobstructed passage for the public, the movable front insures thorough ventilation of the chamber.

The folding front is exceedingly simple in construction and is easily operated, and it has the added advantage of occupying no needed space either when open or closed and when closed presents the appearance of an ordinary store-front.

Having described my in vcntion, what l claim isM 1. In combination with a frame provided with ways at the sides thereof, an upper section hinged to the frame above the opening of the same, a lower section hinged to the lower edge ofthe upper section, guides mounted on the lower section and running in the W ays, means for securing the sections in closed position, and a spring for breaking the joint between the sectionswhen the securing nieans are released.

2. In combination with a building having an open front and a frame around the front, a track extending inwardly from each side ol' the frame, a frontfor closing the opening' and comprising a pair of folding sections, one oiV which is hinged to the frame above the opening and the other of which is hinged to tbc lower edge of the first section and is provided with a doorway, a door closing the said doorway, a bracket attached to each of the lower corners of the second section and having a roller journaled therein and runningl on the track, a plate pivoted on the bracket and also running on the track, sheaves mounted on the 9c an open front anda frame around the open- 9 5 ing having a channel at each side and a track extending inwardly from the channel, a front closing the opening and comprising a pair ol" inwardly-folding sections, one of which is hinged to the frame above the opening and the other of which is hinged to the lower edge of the first section and is provided with a doorway, hinged doors closing the doorway, bolts for securing the sections in closed position, a bracket attached to each of the lower corners of the section and having a roller journaled thereon running on the track, a plate pivoted on the bracket and having a iiange also running on the track, sheaves secured in the channels in the frame, and cables attached to the plates and ruiming over the pulleys, counterbalance-weights on the cables, an operating-chain, and springs secured to the tracks for breaking thejointbetween the sections.

In testimony whereof l aliixmysigi'iaturcin presence of two witnesses.

MARK SA LOMON. 

